Had Apple co-founder Steve Jobs not cancelled his stock options in exchange for $75 million in shares in 2003, he would have an extra $10.3 billion in profits today.

The revelation comes courtesy of a new column Tuesday from Brett Arends of MarketWatch. He noted that the tech bubble burst in 2000 had left many companies hurting, including Apple, which dropped from a peak of $36 down to $7.

In 2003, stock options granted to employees "seemed completely worthless," he wrote. "After all, Apple stock would have to climb all the way back up to those giddy heights before the options even started to show a profit again."

Apple employees were allowed to exchange their options for a smaller number that became valuable at a lower price. Jobs canceled his options in return for $75 million in shares, a move that was said to allow the company to offer more options to other staff, and reportedly was not done due to the diminished stock price.

"Jobs held 15 million options at an exercise price of $9.15, which meant they started to gain value only if Apple stock exceeded that price, and 40 million options at an exercise price of $21.80," Arends wrote. "Apple at the time was little more than $7 a share. (These prices have been adjusted to reflect the subsequent stock split.) Total value: $12.8 billion."

"In other words," he continued, "Steve Jobs missed out on $10.3 billion in extra profits."

Of course, Jobs' 10 million shares are still worth about $2.5 billion today. And last year, he was named the No. 43 wealthiest American with a net worth of $5.1 billion by Forbes.

The chief executive famously takes a salary of only $1 for his work at Apple, but receives millions in compensation in the form of stock options.

While Arends suggested Jobs' move in 2003 was the "dumbest trade ever," Jobs has also been behind some quite profitable deals. Perhaps his best move was purchasing Pixar from filmmaker George Lucas in 1986 for $10 million. He sold the company to Disney in 2006 for $7.4 billion in stock, and was also given a seat on the Disney Board of Directors.

So he has 10million shares worth $2.5 billion.
And he sold Pixar at a profit of over $7 billion.
Yet his net worth is only $5.1 billion?

Wow, those must have been some expensive lawyers getting him his demolition permits...

...of course there could be other expenses:
Portable RDF generators for presentations...
An English major to write his legnthy email correspondences...
A super secret black turtleneck factory in China...

Yes, a billion is enough for the data center that will house his soul when he ascends to a being of pure energy. Maybe another billion for an aluminum cube that is placed at the center of the RDF. All the content publishers will be placed inside of it. Then a movie will be made about it called Cube 3. (Just feeling goofy today)

This just in....I missed out on 33 Million last Friday because I picked the wrong lottery numbers. Man if only that damn crystal ball would stop screwing me and Steve over.

Come on. No one, not even Steve, knew they were going to do as well as they have. Now maybe you can argue he should have kept 10% of those options (if you can even split them up like that) but no one walks away from a sure $75 Million.

But his decision freed up a bunch of stock options for other employees...so maybe his motives were not purely based on making money...imagine that.

There is such a thing as enough... He was probably at it back in 2003. There is probably 10 billion divided between Apple employees now instead. There are a lot of guys at Apple that don't need to work another day in their life, yet they stick around.

It is a testament to the pervasive culture of rapacious greed that emanates out of Wall Street that Brett Arends, who last I heard is not a billionaire, has completely internalized the Wall Street fat cat billionaires' attitude of 'no matter how many billions I'm sitting on, it's never enough'.

It should be quite apparent by now that for Steve Jobs, money, and the accumulation thereof, has never been a prime motivator. Mr. Arends, by implying that in his eyes Jobs is somehow a lesser human being for not voraciously going after those few more billions, has just given us a glimpse into the vacuous, barren expanse that he tries to pass off as his 'bedrock values'.

Meh, it would have been wealth on paper only. Just imagine Steve trying to dispose of that stock by selling or swapping. Other investors would see that Steve was doing, it would spook them, and the stock price would spiral down out of control in minutes. It would also make everyone else on the Apple stock train paper rich too!

If I recall, Steve turned over his options in exchange for restricted stocks because there was a back dating issue involve with those options. Even though he didn't legally have to give them up. Steve didn't want to be accused of profitting from back dated options when it came time to exercise them. Which he will eventually have to do. He didn't make the exchange because he thought he could make more money holding the stock.

Had Apple co-founder Steve Jobs not cancelled his stock options in exchange for $75 million in shares in 2003, he would have an extra $10.3 billion in profits today.

The revelation comes courtesy of a new column Tuesday from Brett Arends of MarketWatch. He noted that the tech bubble burst in 2000 had left many companies hurting, including Apple, which dropped from a peak of $36 down to $7.

In 2003, stock options granted to employees "seemed completely worthless," he wrote. "After all, Apple stock would have to climb all the way back up to those giddy heights before the options even started to show a profit again."

Apple employees were allowed to exchange their options for a smaller number that became valuable at a lower price. Jobs canceled his options in return for $75 million in shares, a move that was said to allow the company to offer more options to other staff, and reportedly was not done due to the diminished stock price.

"Jobs held 15 million options at an exercise price of $9.15, which meant they started to gain value only if Apple stock exceeded that price, and 40 million options at an exercise price of $21.80," Arends wrote. "Apple at the time was little more than $7 a share. (These prices have been adjusted to reflect the subsequent stock split.) Total value: $12.8 billion."

"In other words," he continued, "Steve Jobs missed out on $10.3 billion in extra profits."

Of course, Jobs' 10 million shares are still worth about $2.5 billion today. And last year, he was named the No. 43 wealthiest American with a net worth of $5.1 billion by Forbes.

The chief executive famously takes a salary of only $1 for his work at Apple, but receives millions in compensation in the form of stock options.

While Arends suggested Jobs' move in 2003 was the "dumbest trade ever," Jobs has also been behind some quite profitable deals. Perhaps his best move was purchasing Pixar from filmmaker George Lucas in 1986 for $10 million. He sold the company to Disney in 2006 for $7.4 billion in stock, and was also given a seat on the Disney Board of Directors.

If if's and but's were nuts and bolts, we'd build a hell of a bridge. If my Broker had purchased AAPL instead of "his" stocks, I'd be sitting on $140k rather than this sad little story I've lived since. I think that Steve will be just fine in his later live. Besides, his historic house should be nicely replaced by the time he's ready to retire.

It is a testament to the pervasive culture of rapacious greed that emanates out of Wall Street that Brett Arends, who last I heard is not a billionaire, has completely internalized the Wall Street fat cat billionaires' attitude of 'no matter how many billions I'm sitting on, it's never enough'.

It should be quite apparent by now that for Steve Jobs, money, and the accumulation thereof, has never been a prime motivator. Mr. Arends, by implying that in his eyes Jobs is somehow a lesser human being for not voraciously going after those few more billions, has just given us a glimpse into the vacuous, barren expanse that he tries to pass off as his 'bedrock values'.

I seem to remember seeing an interview where Steve said he made $1 million when he was 21, $10 million when he was 22 and $100 million when he was 23....

For that reason alone I have no reason to think it was ever about money. Jobs has proven one thing about himself over the years, and I think it is his desire to change the world, or something about the world profoundly enough that it lives on when he's gone.

If if's and but's were nuts and bolts, we'd build a hell of a bridge. If my Broker had purchased AAPL instead of "his" stocks, I'd be sitting on $140k rather than this sad little story I've lived since. I think that Steve will be just fine in his later live. Besides, his historic house should be nicely replaced by the time he's ready to retire.

My first IRA was built up to 19k in 2000. After the big crash, and 911, it was worth 11k. Another year later and my "broker" at ML had it down to 8k. He didn't think Apple was a good idea.

In 2003 I took that IRA Account away from Merrill Lynch and sank it into Apple.

I'm probably the furthest thing from a bleeding heart liberal, but there's gotta be a point when you have so much money another $10 billion just won't change your life personally. I'd love to see Steve Jobs publicly go after a major world problem with the same energy he does at Apple. I only say publicly because I'm sure he contributes to many things, but you rarely hear about it.

I'm probably the furthest thing from a bleeding heart liberal, but there's gotta be a point when you have so much money another $10 billion just won't change your life personally. I'd love to see Steve Jobs publicly go after a major world problem with the same energy he does at Apple. I only say publicly because I'm sure he contributes to many things, but you rarely hear about it.

I'd be sad to see that because it would mean Steve went from being the key tech visionary, to just another amateur philanthropist who no longer has more to contribute professionally (like Bill Gates). I really hope Steve doesn't waste his time building huts with his bare hands. Sure be might have a creative idea or two to cure world poverty... but i DOUBT IT. Let him focus on his true passion. He already contributed massively to our world. The question is, what are you or I doing... Steve has already done a lot. The world needs more people like him.

While you didn't do it, it bugs me when people say that rich people have a special obligation to "become charitable." It is perverse if charity comes at the expense of the industrial success that makes charity possible. Steve is the last guy who should be focusing on "giving back." A successful business like Apple does give back, by selling a great product and making money. Then he can pay you or me to give back, or better yet, other AAPL stockholders could (who got the $10B) could.

This is why America is the way it is today; the few wealthy and many, many poor.

How much money can one person spend in a lifetime? Yes, he missed $10 billion, but he also missed being dead too.

Greed is the root of all problem in America today. I can't believe someone has the time to even think of such a nonsense.

His story shows how anything is possible in the great USA, while most in the rest of the world have no chance of becoming wealthy. These 'greedy', as you call them, employ the so-called poor. I would wager S. Jobs is responsible for 10's of 1000's of jobs- either directly, or indirectly. I forget the exact amount, but I remember reading something about how for every $10 million someone earns, 1000 people are employed. The federal government can't hire everyone...